Ray of Sunshine

It all comes down to a simple game of catch for Ray Brown.

After more than six decades in baseball, few can match his experience or his instincts at the ballpark.

You never have to question where the Baseball Alberta Life Member is coming from or what his coaching philosophies might be, as he has always believed that hard work and the basics will create success on the field.

Fort McMurray Giants 2025 Preview

You’ll have to excuse coaches, players, personnel and fans of the Fort McMurray Giants if they’re caught singing “Get Back” this summer.

Vocalist Paul McCartney urged the protagonists of The Beatles song to “get back to where you once belonged.”

For the Giants, where they once belonged is the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) postseason.

Getting the Job Dunn

It’s rare to find Sean Dunn without a smile on his face.

The young Fort McMurray native is soaking in the moments while playing for his hometown Western Canadian Baseball League team.

The Giants hurler “definitely got the chills” pitching in the Canada Day 2022 home game.

2022 Season Preview: Fort McMurray Giants

The Western Canadian Baseball League is back in Fort Mac.

After a two-year absence because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Northern Alberta community is welcoming the return of WCBL action in 2022.

The team is hoping this will be the year they take the next step towards a championship title.

Let ‘Em Fly

Jake Lanferman is hoping to become a coach like the ones he was coached by.

Go down the list: Sheen Bromley, Ray Brown, Taylor Burns, Chris Pritchett, Jason Chatwood.

The Sherwood Park native is using their collective influence to carve out his own journey as the coach of the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks.

Fort McMurray Giants Season Preview

Entering their fourth year of existence, the Fort McMurray Giants are in playoffs-or-bust mode.

Last season’s record of 17 wins and 31 losses may not look like much, but it left the Giants just two games back of the Edmonton Prospects and the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Division of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL).

In an attempt to bolster their postseason hopes, the Giants have raided Edmonton’s talent pool.

Coaching Duo Leaving Prospects

The Edmonton Prospects will have a new look in the dugout next year, as the coaching duo of Ray Brown and Orv Franchuk is moving on.

But the experienced skipper tandem may not be away from the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) for very long.

The Prospects announced the resignation of Brown, the team’s head coach, and Franchuk, the director of baseball development, on Sept. 12th after contract discussions with owner Patrick Cassidy broke down.

Chasing Perfection

Nobody’s perfect.

Perfection, they say, is a myth.

That’s where Rich Walker comes in. When the Edmonton Prospects’ pitcher took the mound at Shell Place in Fort McMurray on June 29th, he unleashed a flawless performance on the Giants.

Holy Schmidt! Did That Just Happen?

Well, you can’t say he didn’t warn you.

At the Okotoks Dawgs media day event, which is an opportunity for reporters to meet the team’s players and coaching staff prior to the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) season, head coach Mitch Schmidt was asked about his “Big Bear” nickname.

He described himself as “very easy going” and a guy who gets along with everybody. Then he followed that description up with this comment: “They say that I’m in hibernation, but when I come out of hibernation, the Big Bear comes out.”

The Big Bear definitely came out …

Q&A with Prospect Derek Shedden

The Western Major Baseball League (WMBL) championship rematch between the Edmonton Prospects and Swift Current 57’s will go to a winner-take-all deciding Game 5 tonight at Mitchell Field.

One of the players who helped make this series go the distance is Edmonton’s left fielder Derek Shedden, whose desperate diving catch put an end to Game 3 and allowed Prospects fans to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Ian Wilson caught up with Shedden this week.